"You what?"
I froze on the spot.
"Don't make me repeat my words, it's embarrassing."
Xain scratched his head, his face flushed red. From his gesture, that was unmistakably not a platonic type of 'like' but the romantic one.
I turned my head to Cedric, trying to confirm if what I heard was right. One look of his face was all I need to know what Xain said wasn't a lie.
'Since when?'
I didn't notice any signs of Xain falling in love with me in the slightest. I was too focused on reforming these guys that I saw all gestures they made as friendly banter.
'Do male leads in these comics fall for each other in the first place?'
It was noticeable with Ilyas because I was always conscious of his behavior as the main character, but I definitely didn't expect that out of everyone in this world, Xain would be the first to confess his love to me.
I opened and closed my mouth, my eyebrows wrinkled into a frown, too flabbergasted to say anything. It's my first time being confessed to by my coworker, a man on top of that.
"Ah, don't answer it yet, I know you don't have feelings for me, I'm just letting you know my feelings about you."
Xain grinned widely at me, playfully bumping his fist on my shoulder, "You know I'm bad at expressing my feelings, so just receive my confession in all of its genuineness, okay?"
"... Oh, o-okay."
Not knowing what to say, I just nodded at his words. Satisfied with my answer, he sat down and patted the chair beside him.
'There's no way he's telling me to sit down there right?'
But Xain's sparkling eyes betrayed my expectation.
'Oh, he does.'
My heart was still shaking. I didn't know what would happen to my poor heart if I sat beside him right now. So, with my 100% rational thinking, I put on my calmest face.
"Xain."
"Yes?"
"Sorry, but I'll sit beside Cedric instead, okay?"
"Huh?"
In a blink, I moved to the opposite side of the table and sat down beside Cedric, crossing my legs with my tea cup held in my hand.
Sipping the already cool tea, I closed my eyes – indicating my unwillingness to talk.
This situation was all too sudden for me, I really needed time to think alone.
If I could, I would gladly walk out of this place right now, but Wilson told me to wait for him, and there's still two more hours before I could pick Ilyas up from his university. Left with no excuse, I had to endure this awkward moment between the three of us.
'I hope Wilson comes back soon.'
.
.
LifeLink
A pharmaceutical company based in The Federation that was created as a result of partnership between a genius researcher and a wealthy businessman to create medicines focused on healing esper's impurities and stabilizing their wavelength without a guide.
It was the company Wilson led, and to my surprise, Marcello was his biggest financial investor.
A breakthrough of their research had been announced and now they were having a negotiation with the leader of Ability User Bureau, Francis Romano, to effectively distribute the medicine to espers and commercialize them.
"Mr. Lorenzo expresses his desire to walk around the city, so you will be his tour guide, Ethan."
I was called in by Francis. Standing in front of his desk, the gaze of three men in the room was focused on me. The negotiation was over, so all that's left was formalities of entertaining the guest. And that job was handed to me.
"Understood, I'll call my teammates and prepare-"
"No, I only want you. Alone."
Marcello flashed me a playful grin. He was definitely doing it on purpose, using his position to separate me from my teammates. From his behavior so far, I was sure he had some kind of agenda with me.
But, if he thought this could make me waver, he was definitely wrong.
"My pleasure, I'll try my best to guide you around."
I showed him a similar grin on my face. I was no pushover, if you want a fight, I'd gladly give it to you.
Marcello's grin deepened, revealing the dimples on his cheek. He said his farewell greetings to Francis and walked towards me.
Bending down, he whispered in my ear.
"I'll be counting on you, little brother."
I gave him a glance as he passed by me. A creepy smile was evident on his face, which made me recoil in caution.
'Hell nah, ain't no way I'll do my best to guide this person.'
Wilson – who had been staying quiet all this time – finally rose from his seat. After giving our farewell to Francis, I followed Wilson out of the room. Marcello was already waiting in front of the door.
"Sorry Ethan, bear with his selfishness just this one time."
It's one of those moments where Wilson looked tired. Marcello must have insisted on this outing in front of Francis and having to consider his position as the representative of LifeLink, he couldn't deny Marcello's request.
"I would accompany you if I could, but with distribution in progress, there is a lot of paperwork to be done. Just call me if he does anything weird to you, okay?"
He held my hand with the most serious gaze in his eyes. I chuckled and patted his hand to assure him.
"Don't worry, I'm an S-Rank too you know? I can handle myself."
'I'm more worried about how you manage to befriend someone like him.'
I kept my thoughts to myself as I watched Wilson leave.
Now, it's just the two of us.
I pulled out my phone, informing my teammates of my leave and texted Ilyas, saying I wouldn't be able to drive him today. It's a shame, but I couldn't possibly ditch Marcello.
Then I put on my most perfect business smile.
"Well then, where do you want to go first, Mr. Lorenzo?"
"Don't be distant, please call me Marcello. That being said, I would love to know the places you fancy."
"Mine?"
He stepped closer to me, looking down directly to my eyes.
He smiled, "Yes, I want to learn everything about you."